Tag: De La Soul

According to theroot.com, it’s been over 10 years since the last De La Soul album was released, but thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the trio famous for songs such as “Potholes In My Lawn,” “Me, Myself and I” and “Saturdays” will begin recording its eighth album, And the Anonymous Nobody. The group’s goal of $110,000 was met within 48 hours and has since been surpassed by $178,262 for a current grand total of $288,262.

“And the Anonymous Nobody really plays on two ideas,” the group told Rolling Stone.”No egos, no seniority, no bosses, just a group of equal ‘nobodies’ working towards one goal: making music. Second, there’s always a silent champion or brave individual—a ‘nobody’—that steps in saves the day. The person that steps in and stands for something. Something bigger than him … and makes a change. ‘Nobody can save the day!’ Well he sure can! We are those nobodies … stepping in, standing for something and hopefully making a change.”

The new album will also include guests such as David Byrne, 2 Chainz and Little Dragon. Those who helped fund the album will receive rewards ranging from exclusive album tracks to a shopping excursion with De La Soul.

There are still 30 days and several prizes left in the campaign, so if you’d like to donate, click here.

J Dilla was only 32 years old when he died in 2006, but in his too-short life, the prolific producer worked with hip-hop icons including Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, The Roots, De la Soul, Common, and A Tribe Called Quest, even earning a Grammy nomination for his work with Tribe. And now, another honor for the late Detroit beatmaker: His recording equipment will be featured in the Smithsonian.

At the ninth DC Loves Dilla tribute concert on Thursday night, Dilla’s mom, Maureen Yancey, announced onstage that she would donate her son’s custom Minamoog Voyager — one of the last synthesizers Bob Moog built for someone before he died in 2005 — and his MPC to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“I feel it’s necessary to raise the level of art appreciation in the hip-hop sector and honor my son James Dewitt Yancey, one of the most influential individuals in the history of hip-hop,” Dilla’s mom said in a Smithsonian press release announcing the donation.

Below, watch Yancey announce the donation at the benefit concert, which raises money to battle lupus, a disease that might have played a part in Dilla’s early death.